David is an academic, medical educationist and social reformer, and has held many leadership positions at organisations across the health and care sectors.

David is the former chair of the Royal College of Physicians and he also chairs Durham University International Business School and Dementia UK.

His previous positions as a Chair have included at an NHS trust, the forensic science regulator and the UK-wide sector skills council for social care and social work.

Ed Watkinson is the Director of Watkinson Consulting and has over 30 years’ experience of social care. He has been a care assistant, registered manager, area manager, care manager, commissioner, strategic lead for County Council,  regulatory inspector, inspection methodology developer, policy writer, consultant advisor to CQC, internal regulator for large care home provider and Director of Care Quality for the biggest provider of compliance tools in the UK.

In 2018 Ed made the decision to establish Watkinson Consulting Ltd, and since then has supported many providers to improve and understand the regulatory environment in which they operate. He also works with the National Care Forum, is a trustee for NAPA (the National Activity Providers Association).

Ellie is Head of Social Care Transformation and Improvement at Social Care Institute for Excellence (SCIE) and an experienced social worker. She has worked across frontline practice and system leadership, with expertise spanning child protection, early help, looked-after children, fostering and adoption, SEND, youth justice and leaving care, adult’s social care, local government reform and strengths-based leadership.

Ellie specialises in service transformation, partnership working and practice improvement, supporting local authorities and national programmes to strengthen services for children, young people and families and individuals who draw upon care and support and their carers. Her work includes leading national programmes, workforce reviews and training on areas such as transitional safeguarding, trauma-informed practice and co-production with people with lived experience.

Dr Tori Blake is a General Practitioner and Director of Urgent Care and Corporate Services at Nimbuscare, a GP-led Community Interest Company delivering NHS services. She has leadership experience across primary, community and acute care. Tori has led the redesign of urgent care services in York and North Yorkshire, improving quality of care, patient experience and operational performance through integrated, digitally enabled models of care. A CQC Registered Manager, she has a particular interest in quality improvement, clinical governance, patient safety and workforce development, with a focus on building sustainable multidisciplinary teams and creating positive learning cultures. Tori holds a Postgraduate Certificate in Medical Education, a Diploma in Urgent Medical Care, and is an examiner for the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh.

Kelly Christie is the Senior Head of Quality within the Quality Directorate at East Midlands Ambulance Service NHS Trust (EMAS). Health & Safety and Patient Safety Specialist by background, and a Fellow of the International Institute of Risk & Safety Management, Kelly provides strategic leadership on patient safety, incident management, health and safety, and risk governance, ensuring learning from incidents is embedded across the organisation. She works closely with clinical, operational, and corporate teams to strengthen safety culture, provide oversight of high risk issues, and assurance to senior leaders and the Board.

Jade Haddow, Msc, RNdipHe; currently serves as Head of Quality, Assurance and Compliance at the University Hospitals of Derby and Burton NHS Foundation Trust.  With extensive experience spanning clinical practice, healthcare quality, governance and regulatory compliance, she leads programmes that support safe, effective and well-led care across acute and community services.  Jade works closely with executive and clinical teams to strengthen organisational assurance, support regulatory readiness and drive quality through robust governance frameworks.  She is passionate about translating regulatory requirements into practical improvements that enhance patient care, staff experience, and organisational learning.

Kevin Humphrys is CEO of Oakland Care Group, a role he has held since 2022. He leads the group’s care homes with a focus on person-centred care and professionalising care roles.

Kevin has overseen the deployment of AI across Oakland Care Group’s homes, including PredictaAI, a proprietary tool for identifying health deterioration before it becomes a crisis. He also leads a local AI deployment, accessed via VPN, keeping data within Oakland Care Group’s own environment at zero subscription or token cost. With CareSpace, he has helped build a comprehensive, AI-enabled care home management system. He built the group’s AI governance framework on a firm principle: AI flags, people decide.

Kevin holds a CMI Level 7 qualification in Strategic Approaches to AI in Organisations and speaks regularly on AI governance and leadership in social care, including recent panels at Care Show London and the Care Leaders’ Summit.

David is an academic, medical educationist and social reformer, and has held many leadership positions at organisations across the health and care sectors.

David is the former chair of the Royal College of Physicians and he also chairs Durham University International Business School and Dementia UK.

His previous positions as a Chair have included at an NHS trust, the forensic science regulator and the UK-wide sector skills council for social care and social work.